(We can't post the leak here, so you'll have to make do with some Mass Effect Andromeda art.)
It's not often you get a rumour this juicy on a Sunday, but here we are. A very short video clip of what is supposedly a leaked Sony-involved project has appeared on IconEra. The seemingly in-game footage is just several seconds long, and shows a man with a rifle looking over an alien landscape as some kind of giant creature crawls up a huge structure in the distance.
Honestly, it's hard to determine much at all from this video alone. Assuming it's real, all we can say for sure is that it's early in development, and that it appears to be a third-person shooter. We suppose immediate comparisons are games like Mass Effect, or Gears of War.
The leaker does include a few details, however. It's described as a "sci-fi RPG", and it's apparently being developed using Unreal Engine 5. And yes, it's allegedly a new IP from Sony, with the company's XDev team involved as either the primary developer, or as a support studio. If you need a reminder, XDev is a British PlayStation Studio that's helped out on a number of high profile titles over the years. As such, it's assumed that XDev is paired up with another developer for this one as well.
Again though, if this footage can be trusted, it's still very early days for the project, and it'll likely be a long time until we get any concrete information. But what do you make of this? Would you take a new sci-fi title from Sony? Get your hopes up in the comments section below.
[source icon-era.com, via insider-gaming.com]
Comments 86
If this is true, this is a good sign for me. A new IP AND a (hopefully proper) RPG from Sony first party: Nice!
I wouldn't be surprised. Sony haven't really got a full blown RPG and with several big RPG developers joining MS, they could do with their own IP...
XDev won't be the primary developer as they are a support studio?
And regardless, the leak says "its in development by an xDev", not by Sony XDev. Meaning its from an external developer.
Anyhow this sounds very promising!
Mmm I'm very curious to know more. New IPs are always exciting.
It's in third person so they already got one foot in the door for me.
From the headline alone, Cory Barlog was my first thought.
Sounds good to me! Always happy to see new RPGs coming. A sci-fi RPG to fill the Mass Effect shaped hole in my heart is also much appreciated if true!
Sony's answer to Starfield?
@SoulChimera Yep, instantly thought of his project.
I wonder if the mystery developer behind this is one Sony has worked with before or a new team altogether. Regardless, a new sci-fi RPG PlayStation IP is intriguing.
xDev is a 1st Party SONY studio one of 23. A solid team. Can't wait!
I saw the leak. It's gonna be a while until we see anything official (it was clearly in very early development).
@clvr
U mean Starfield is MS answer to No Mans Sky.
Lol just throw mass effect in I like this , sweet gritty sci fi RPG 80s style cross between aliens and the movie predator I'll be all for that. No lame let's build a relationship like the finale of strange new worlds, I miss the 80s and 90s lol
Leaks say it is a European studio, I wonder if it could be Remedy that Xdev's collaborating with, there were some rumours a while back of a remedy- developed ps5 exclusive.
@jimbouk Might be firesprite's game.
@CapGod Xdev only collaborates with other third party studios that aren't owned by SIE themselves, so I don't think it is Firesprite.
Hopefully true. It would be nice to have our own version of Starfield.
4 guesses
Corey’s new game from San Monica , naughty dogs new ip , Sony bends new ip or bluepoints new ip. Some one also said firesprite which could be a possible but I don’t think so.
@roadhog could be them also good one
The follow up to Helldivers is apparently a bigger budget over the shoulder third-person shooter, but I’d have thought that was a lot farther along in development.
As long as it isn’t one of their live service games, I’m interested.
Ok. This has potential. I'm a huge Mass Effect fan so hopefully this doesn't release near ME5's release or it'll take a back seat. That said, I'll definitely keep an eye out for this one.
A deal breaker will be if it's a live service game.
Finally, Returnal with a savefunction.
@Uncharted2007 huge Mass Effect fan here too. Hopefully it won't be live service, I know Sony is interested in developing a ton of them. We don't want another Anthem on our hands lol.
N.i.c.e. im cool with a sci fi rpg from sony.by xdev.word up son
It’ll be Playstation’s answer to Starfield!!
I always get hyped when a new sony ip gets announced and they never fail to deliver. Horizon, days gone and ghost of tsushima were all new IP's from the ps4 gen and they were all amazing games.
@Uncharted2007 preaching to the choir dude. No shiney fake live service game needed
I'm a sucker for giant creatures doing things in the background like the gormott titan in Xenoblade 2 swaying his head a little
Already this has my attention even if it looks like an early PS3 build lmao
No doubt XDev is providing support for the lead studio behind this project, if I had to guess, it's either Santa Monica Studios or Naughty Dog. Leaning more toward Santa Monica Studios since I believe Cory Barlog expressed interest in creating a Sci-Fi Action Adventure Game shortly after the release of God of War in 2018.
XDev has collaborated with multiple First-Party, Second-Party & Third-Party Studios on multiple projects, including:
> Heavenly Sword - Ninja Theory
> Heavy Rain - Quantic Dream
> Beyond Two Souls - Quantic Dream
> Detroit Become Human - Quantic Dream
> Until Dawn - Supermassive Games
> The Impatient - Supermassive Games
> LittleBigPlanet - Media Molecule
> Dreams - Media Molecule
> Sackboy A Big Adventure - Sumo Digital
> Matterfall - Housemarque
> Returnal - Housemarque
> Destruction All-Stars - Lucid Games
> Death Stranding Director's Cut - Kojima Productions
> Stellar Blade - Shift Up
> Rise of the Ronin - Team Ninja
NOT CONFIRMED: But I believe they assisted with The Last of Us Part 1 Remake
Looks a very mid copy of gears of war, armoured guy with big shoulders and giant monster in the background doing some *****, something that needs 6-7 years before developing into a full game.
@Al3 gears of war trilogy was very good latest ones not so much
0% interest in a Sony equivalent to Gears since Gears is essentially my least favorite exclusive franchise on any platform, so hopefully this is more Mass Effect or Returnal than that. Curious to see what this develops into.
People on this page are really struggling with the concept of XDev(External Developer)
@Loamy Xdev is based in the former liverpool studio but it's solely a team that supports external development
A first party sci-fi RPG? Sounds good! And to echo others: please don’t make it a live service game…
If that's what it looks like I'm interested. I like the darker tone to it.
@TaMpA_bLaCk Sony don't have 23 studios, and Xdev is a support studio, not a IP producing studio.
@NinjaNicky Sony did reboot socom and no one bought it
@Uncharted2007 as a huge science fiction fan and rpg fan myself even if it is live service ill still play it, you clearly arnt a real fan of those genres then. give me as many rpgs as they can make lol
@GuttyYZ actually hater anthem wasnt bad. combat was great so was flying around, graphics were gorgeous. the bad was story was short and could've been better. they had a great foundation there but didnt build more. anthem could've been amazing if they supported it
Also it looks like a very early prototype build so I wouldn’t judge it based on the video.
@SerJosh97 Not a hater, I never played it. It just failed as a live service game. I'm sure parts of it were fun.
@NomNom Yes they have 23 Studios.
@TaMpA_bLaCk Yeah cuz Bethesda wasn't making Starfield way before Microsoft bought them. Comparing a new IP from Bethesda to No Man's Sky is quite the leap.
@NinjaNicky don't fix it if its no broke , socom is good to I'm torn lol
Awesome. Hope we hear more soon. Could this be a sort of counter programming to Star field?
@TaMpA_bLaCk
As of Sony's last purchase is 19.
6 of those being a support studio, and one being a mobile division studio. This doesn't include Bungie as they are a seperate entity to that of PlayStation first party studios.
Xbox currently has 23. With the addition of ABK this will be pushed up to 30+.
https://www.androidcentral.com/everything-sony-worldwide-studios-working#:~:text=PlayStation%20Studios%3A%20How%20many%20are,not%20develop%20their%20own%20games.
I know people seem to rap on the PS4 for having so many big open world single player titles but honestly it’s these games that keep me on PlayStation and I hope Sony keeps cranking them out (although I’d still appreciate a new WipEout)
Sony I want one RPG and its not scifi its fantasy give me Legend of Dragoon. 😁
@theMEGAniggle It could be a project that has been created by X Dev that has been presented to Sony higher ups and got funding an support, it could be they have even spun out a new studio for the game.
I'd be very excited for it. Would love to see a Sci-fi game from Sony. Haven't got to play much of Returnal as roguelike games are not my cup of tea but I loved the look an idea of it from what I played at the start. It felt like the closest they had to having something that looks like their own little Mass Effect. So maybe there is hope this game could be more my thing.
@GuttyYZ Probably not a tonne of them, they are developing a tonne in the hopes they find their fortnite, a game that turns over 5 billion.
I'd definitely be excited for this if so! Though it's funny the story compares it to ME and not Resistance which was my first thought. Though I wonder if Sony can pull off full RPG. GoW and Horizon both toy with RPG aspects, but none really get into full RPG systems .
@Flaming_Kaiser don't get my hopes up
@NomNom
https://photos.app.goo.gl/YhCbMZ7w2wtmcHEa9
@EEZY541 in NMS you can take off land and fly in and out of planets not just cutscenes js
@SerJosh97 Genre fan? No. Specific series fan... yes.
@TaMpA_bLaCk wouldn’t it be Bethesda’s answer to No man’s sky that Microsoft just happen to purchase?
Really hope its true as a new IP that's Sci-Fi and a RPG from Sony sounds exciting.
Can't really say anything. Might turn to smoke. But, i would be intrigued.
@GreatAuk
Every first party Sony game is third person. I want to see them tackle FPS games again for a change.
@PegasusActual93 I wonder if they ever will? I think 3rd person focus tests better for larger audiences which is why they went that way, while MW really has a big chunk of fps now.
I could see them doing it as an option like elder scrolls or even ff xvi where you can change first and third as an option, but, then usually one or the other is really the way the game plays better, and all the marketing would show 3rd person... And Sony's 1st person games never really sold gangbusters.
its a real ***** shame if it doesnt have multiplayer , it most likely wont since sonys become one-tricks
@nomither6 only multiplayer is coach co op! I've still got me nes and SNES best era of gaming.
@clvr looks like it 👀
@Elodin I prefer it to be more in line with mass effect.
@TaMpA_bLaCk
Starfield is open world RPG game while NMS is a survival game.
So if anything Starfield is the fallout answer for players who love sci-fi.
@NEStalgia Guerilla is supposedly working on something Killzone related. If true, that game will definitely be first person.
And Horizon! ...on PSVR2.
@NomNom I loved that game maybe it's nostalgia but I loved it even the simple touch if bonus damage when pushing the button for extra damage during attack for bonus damage. I just loved the setting and characters.
@knowles2 could be, but that's not what the leak said. Was just clearing that up in my comment. But it very well could be.
I am in no way saying it couldn't be, was just saying the leak said it was an external Dev and not Sony XDev
@nomither6 you are aware they have ten live service games in development?! Plus not every game needs a second rate mp mode attached.
@starbuck2212 and not every games “attached” mp is “second rate” either
@Octane I'm so hoping that KZ rumor is false. Every other Sony studio moved beyond their old work and never returns to it, even if they should be (Sly 5 when?). KZ was never really a great series, and I long thought Guerilla a mediocre studio at best until HzD came out of nowhere. Putting them back on what always was a b-tier FPS seems like such a downgrade for them. Shadowfall was at least a major upgrade in KZ's identity beyond "generic brown shooter" but in hindsight it feels like an HzD prototype more than a full game.
Good point on VR2 in general though....that should mean at least some focus on some 1st person games by nature of necessity, though I could easily see just having a VR specific 1st person camera mode for otherwise 3rd person games being added.
@TaMpA_bLaCk Comparing SF to NMS has become common based purely on the concept of traveling to different planets, but it's two totally different genres. NMS is a survival game, SF is a normal Bethesda game template, an RPG, dialogue heavy, like Elder Scrolls and Fallout, questing, leveling up, etc. Similar backdrop of hopping planets, but entirely different genres.
@NEStalgia I agree. Killzone Shadowfall is definitely one of the typical average launch games. Cool when it came out, because of the shiny new graphics, but doesn't hold up in hindsight. Mediocre to average at best. Though maybe with two (or three) Horizon games under the belt, they can innovate the franchise somehow. It wouldn't surprise me if Sony panicked a little when they realised they didn't have their own shooter franchise anymore, and with COD going to Microsoft, it makes all the more sense to double down on an FPS. In that case, it's probably easier to restore Killzone's reputation, than to launch a new IP with zero brand awareness among the general public.
There's a reason why most games are either first person or third person. So I don't think many third person games will have a first person camera just for VR. But yeah, first person and VR just make too much sense. Astro Bot Rescue Mission was third person on PSVR and that plays really well, I wouldn't want that game to be first person though. Though technically it is a first person game, because you are a Mario 64 Lakitu-esque robot that follows Astro Bot. There are a few levels with reflective surfaces where you can see ''yourself''. Pretty neat.
@Octane I think panic would have to be it if they went that way with CoD. KZ was originally intended to be a Halo Killer(TM). It failed miserably at killing Halo (a feat 343i would eventually accomplish ), but simply stands no chance at ever being a CoD killer. Generic as Shadowfall was, it did at least improve the gameplay beyond the "grimy brown corridor shooter" it previously was. It's one of those franchises IMO it's safest to leave behind as a reminder of the PS360 brown shooter era. It was never particularly good. It never sold particularly well. I often get annoyed with Sony for abandoning franchises too often and just moving onto the new thing while forgetting their old IP, but....I think KZ is one that would be for the best to forget. Resistance, IMO is a better bet for making a new splash with an old IP on the shooter scene, but, then, Insomniac would have to make that rather than some new uninspired Marvel thing that prints money. If they're going for a CoD killer, though, SOCOM, not KZ is the obvious choice. TBH I don't think the KZ market crosses with CoD's at all. SOCOM's did.
Wait, Killzone has brand awareness among the public?! It's barely remembered in PS fandom except among the devout. It's a relic of the "how low can you go" PS3 era, and a PS4 launch title nobody bought I'd go for that new IP if I were them
Yeah, I'm actually a fan of 3rd person VR. Moss is one of my favorites as well. And I loved the diorama aspect of 3DS's 3D. Obviously 1st person is the lifeblood of VR, but sometimes that 3rd person "god perspective" is actually the most interesting use of the tech.
Anything in the vein of Mass Effect is great news. I need to have more of these big-budget story-driven games.
@NEStalgia Them are fighting words. I generally hate shooters, I'm weirdly good at them, I usually have a 2:1 k/d ratio, but I never particularly enjoyed them until I played Killzone, especially 2, which is the greatest of the franchise Imho. You just see it as a brown shooter with low poli gameplay. But the game itself was incredible. Most shooters are incredibly generic with their tropes: aliens, terrorism, defending our homeland. On a glance you'd think the same of Killzone too. Try watching this video, the YouTuber does a great job going back and reviewing the game:
https://youtu.be/JVHMDxW--ik
Finally some of Sonys sh1t leaks out. It's about the only way we get news from them. Hopefully there are many more leaks in the future.
Amazing News!!!!
I Can’t Wait to know what is the franchise 🥳
@NomNom Ehh.....it has its fans..... I got sucked into the hype pre-release, pre-ordered it, sat there playing it, thought the intro cutscene was so amazing I watched it like 8 times, and then forced myself to play through the brown and gray corridor shooter where everything looked the same, that felt like a tanky dudebro PS360 era Duke Nukem without the attitude and all the actual fun removed. I kinda disagree with the video saying it "looked, sounded, and played like nothing else". It looked and sounded exactly like EVERYTHING else but with space-Nazis, and it played almost the same, but both tanky, janky and slow all at the same time.
IMO the big problems with 2, which was arguably the height of the series, is 1: The fact that everything is a seamless sea of brown-gray, and everything looks like the same pile of rubble everywhere. 2: The 1990s design of just standing in a room fighting off waves of enemies that spawn out of thin air. Which is actually still a problem they have with human enemy battles in Horizon, but we look past it because freaking robot dinosaurs!
I think KZ is just a product of its time, and doesn't really translate well outside that time. That style of thing was all the rage in that era, and KZ did well enough blending in as a part of that backdrop with its own twists and some technical feats. But I'm not sure that stands up well on its own today. Shadowfall definitely made some changes in the right direction. It was no longer brown and gray corridors, was fun to play, added some strategy with stealth, and the high tech navigation, etc. It was fun to play and when it ended left me wishing it was longer, which is usually a good sign. But everything Shadowfall did right, really became incorporated into Horizon, and looking back, the game even LOOKED more like Horizon than the rest of KZ. I wouldn't doubt that it only existed as an early prototype shell for whatever codename project Horizon was and was just quickly retrofitted into a a KZ game for a launch title. As a retrospective, Shadowfall was fun because it was an early beta look into what Horizon would be than because it was an evolution of KZ.
The latest rumor is it's People Can Fly, the studio behind Outriders.
@theGoodChap ''second party'' doesn't exist. It's either first (internal) or third (external). Long story, but the ''second party'' in this terminology refers to the buyer, i.e. the customer, but's it's rarely used that way.
I'm keeping my eyes on this game, could turn out to be good.
@theGoodChap But the thing is that it's entirely a fan-made term. Publishers never use the word ''second party''. If a project is funded by Sony they consider it first party software (even if developed by an external studio). If and external studio publishes something on Sony hardware it is third party software (by a third party developer).
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